After reading Belloc's verses for children for the very first time I realized that I had done it all wrong. Instead of reading Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends," "A Light in the Attic," Kipling's "Verse for Children," and all of Dr. Seuss to my firstborn, I should have been scaring the hell out of him with poems like, 'Jim, who ran away from his Nurse and was eaten by a Lion,' and 'Matilda, who told lies and was Burned to Death.' How much easier life would have been! You know, my second born is a direct descendent of a Jim who amazingly enough also used to "wander off". Hmmm. I dunno, T's varied explorations/adventures made him independent and his creative versions of the truth have turned him into a pretty damn good writer. (Still, I'll save Belloc for J. Just in case he takes after his dad and starts wandering off.)
Books I received for Christmas:
The Secret History, by Donna Tartt (already devoured)
Diane Thiel's Echolocations
Selected Rilke
Best Words, Best Order
Books I pillaged from my mother's shelves:
Belloc Stories Essays and Poems
A New History of Philosophy -- Ancient & Medieval
A Little Treasury of Favorite Poems
Citadels of Mystery (formerly titled: Ancient Ruins and Archaeology)
Edgar Allan Poe Stories
The Way of Life According to Lao Tzu
I suppose I should start thinking up resolutions for 2005. Resolutions that I would actually be able to keep.
Give me some ideas. Tell me yours.
2 comments:
Oh my god, those verses-for-children titles knocked me out of my chair.
I think I need to find that book!
You simply must find it, or else you'll miss gems like--
"Henry King, Who chewed bits of String, and was early cut off in Dreadful Agonies"
and
"About John, who lost a Fortune by Throwing Stones"
For some reason, I get the feeling Belloc wasn't all that fond of little tikes. *lol*
Post a Comment